Last of the lunchtime wine
This is a tale of two lunches, sort of. The first was a classically English affair. We started with native…
Have airport designers noticed that laptops exist?
It’s taken years to work this out, but there is a subtle art to designing an airport lounge. 1) Install…
Chorus of approval
One of the growth areas of contemporary music is in setting sacred texts. It might be thought that I had…
Chorus of approval
One of the growth areas of contemporary music is in setting sacred texts. It might be thought that I had…
Goodwill to Men
Overheard in advent was this complaint of a bus driver to a passenger, ‘Don’t call me brother! We’re not of…
This Chancellor is a most political animal
Autumn Statements lack the drama and traditions of the Budget. Gladstone never delivered one, there is no Autumn Statement box…
The new Cold War
The only way to stop Russia's escalating displays of aggression is to show western strength
Portrait of the week
Home Theresa May, the Home Secretary, spent a few days announcing things. She broadcast on the Andrew Marr Show on…
Nicky Morgan vs Socrates
Understanding the mechanics of the world has nothing to say about ‘how to do what we think is right’
From the archives
From ‘Sedition in Ireland’, The Spectator, 28 November 1914: If the press is to be muzzled, why do not the…
The Tories are preparing for civil war in the unlikely event of victory
Owen Paterson's bid to lead the 'out' side is only the most obvious preparatory manoeuvre
What you’re not allowed to say about divorce
Mention this and you are likely to be defriended on Facebook and stopped from attending Hay-on-Wye
Signs that the virtual mob is starting to rule
The internet can turbo-charge national hypocrisy so that it turns ferocious within hours
How to keep your corporate reputation: forget the CSR, just get the basics right
Plus: George Osborne’s bonus defeat, and the horrors of Heathrow
Technology without responsibility
We know they can be good citizens when they want to be. So why are they acting in ways that could endanger us all?
Scotland’s unwon cause
This new newspaper, whatever its quality, is a reminder that the thirst for change in Scotland remains unquenched
President or prisoner?
Just when it seemed that French politics couldn’t get any worse, the former president has put himself back in the game
The trouble with Bristol
A culture that sees itself as one continuous collective protest eventually suffocates itself
Blackberry fool
To survive as a technophobe in the 21st century, you must depend on the kindness of strangers
A liberal education?
Sometimes they arrive with firmly held ‘traditional’ views which clash with the values of such establishments
